Chapter 1. Am I the best?

I am Alex Jones, I am 21 years old, an ordinary office worker with no family and no ambitions in life. Now I'm at my hated job. Ask why I hate her? And that's just because...

- ALEX!

– YES SIR - I run screaming into the boss's office.

- WHAT KIND OF REPORT IS THIS! HAVE YOU ALREADY LOST ALL YOUR CONVOLUTIONS?

- Excuse me, sir, but what's wrong with my report?

- AND NOT TO CATCH UP YOURSELF? Everything you need to say. Go and redo it! - the boss tells me the advanced report, while showing a smile.

- But boss, I've been redoing this one report for a whole week! I've been taking overtime for a month now! – I say, having a small hope that I will reach him.

- Didn't you hear? GET OUT!

And how many times do I leave my boss's office with the most sullen face in my life.

"Damn this petty fatty, DOES HE WANT TO KILL ME?!" I think to myself, kicking the next wall by the door.

It all started a month ago, then I worked like any other employee. Running errands, writing reports, and stuff like that. But it all started on that ill-fated day, when I was in a hurry to go home to watch new seasonal anime, the boss bumped past me, cutting me off. He and I fell together on the carpet, I quickly got up and helped my boss up, and sincerely apologized for this oversight, then rushed home.

But I didn't think then that this race... the boss of our department is so mad at me. And so began my most hellish month of work in my life. After that, I didn't just work 3 times more, at the same time I became an errand boy for all my colleagues. I stayed on overtime every day, I felt like I was going to die. Most likely this is because after work I sit almost until the morning watching anime and playing games. I couldn't help myself, I wanted to see all the new items and play the games I bought, for which I earn this money. All the colleagues with whom I communicated well and considered friends, not only turned away from me, ceasing to contact me in any way, but did not even disdain to throw me more jobs. And there was nothing I could do about it, that was my hellish job.

- DAMN STUPID BOSS, STUPID COLLEAGUES, STUPID JOB, STUPID WORLD... I HATE ALL THIS! I shouted to the whole street like a madman.

All the people on the street that I passed by shunned and avoided me, because to them I looked like a psycho.

WHAT ABOUT ME? AND I DON'T CARE!

"Damn, I'm sick of everything, I'll have to quit... But where will I find the time and money for this, I need to pay for an apartment, for groceries, etc. But most importantly for the GAMES! Ehhh my life is a tin can"

When I got home, as always, I started playing games sitting at the computer until 3 am. My eyes started to close and I felt sleepy. And as usual I go to my old uncomfortable bed to close my eyes for a minute. To almost full (no) strength, continue to play.

Suddenly I felt a strong current of wind on my face, slowly opening my eyes I see... THAT I DON'T SEE ANYTHING! I feel like I'm falling, and that my eyes are open, but I also can't see anything. I'm starting to panic and have already started saying goodbye to life.

* BOOM*

"DAMN, IT HURTS!" - I thought, when I fell on the black nothing, even though I was falling like from a decent height, I didn't die and didn't feel a huge pain. The pain could be compared to falling on mats from 2 meters high.

I start looking around and I don't see anything. Suddenly, a strip of light starts shining in front of me from a distance of 10 meters, as if from a searchlight. At first it blinded me, but when my eyes got used to it, I was able to make out what was under this light, and what I saw caused me a strange feeling. Under the spotlight was a huge red throne, and on it sat a figure dressed in a black jacket, under which was a gray hooded sweatshirt and shirt, and on his feet were ordinary blue jeans. This figure caused me very strange feelings that I could not understand. I decided to start the dialogue first.

- Where am I and who are you? - I ask an unfamiliar or familiar figure?

The mysterious figure begins to laugh softly

- Ha, ha, ha. Who am I? Look at me and you'll understand everything," the mysterious figure says, taking off his hood.

When I saw him, I was speechless. I felt that this could not be, but with all my being I felt what I saw was not a deception or a hallucination. On the throne sat none other than me. But I am different, but there were also huge differences in us. He looked like me, but much more charismatic, more beautiful and stronger. If someone else saw us together, he would not have connected us in any way. But I felt inside that he was me, the best me.

- I'm YOU! But only from another universe, a parallel universe! - My abductor from another universe tells me, smiling.

My head is trying to digest the information that the kidnapper gave me.

- OK... ALL RIGHT! If you are me from another universe then why do you look like a model and I look like an ordinary guy? And what, did I forget here anyway? I asked my captor.

- Everything is in order, my friend, - he tells me with a grin on his face.

- I am you from another universe in which a virus called black light was raging! This virus could...

- Wait, did you say BLACK LIGHT? I interrupted him without ceremony.

- Hmm... it looks like you know about the black light, but as far as I know there is no such virus in your world, it's very interesting. I can see by your look that you know something, but it's even better to skip the tedious explanations. Let me ask you how do you know about the black light? - the kidnapper asks me.

But I wasn't listening to him, I was looking at the floor and thinking with fear in my head. If you think about it, he really looks like this character. But I can't believe this is really the same character from my favorite game. It can't be, it can't be that I am his parallel incarnation. "I CAN'T BE HIM, HE'S A VIRUS""

- P-Before continuing the conversation, m-may I ask your name? I asked him, more worried than I had ever been in my life.

His lips rise to form a devilish grin that sent shivers through my body and that I will never forget.

- ALEX MERCER!